


Best Choice

by Jayfur08



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Blood, Blood Loss, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Burning, Burns, Death, Guilt, Hospital, Hospital Gown, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Cursing, Mild Humor, Pidge | Katie Holt Angst, Pidge | Katie Holt-centric, Resuscitation, Sacrifice, Self-Hatred, Self-Sacrifice, Singing, Speaking Restrictions, Stress, Suicidal Ideation, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Temporary Character Death, Torture, Voids, Water Burns, blame, heart failure, hot water, injuries, ish, revival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:47:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27846310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayfur08/pseuds/Jayfur08
Summary: Gashes and bruises kept popping up on her, and they hurt. Most of the time, they were all pretty light- no worse than the stuff she got on an average mission. But... It didn't make sense.Where were they coming from?~~~~~~Pidge opened her mouth to talk, but she found herself not being able to. Blackish blue spots danced around in her eyes. The floor seemed to fall from under her and she collapsed. She felt a rush as she went down, fast, before her eyes slammed shut and everything with dark.
Relationships: Allura & Coran & Hunk & Keith & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro, Allura & Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt, Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt, Pidge | Katie Holt & Everyone, Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33
Collections: Pidge Angst Bang





	Best Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to read the tags and comment if I missed any TWs!
> 
> Artwork is by [This Blog](http://anchoredtetherart.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [The art!](https://anchoredtetherart.tumblr.com/post/636430811841937408/for-the-pidgeangstbang-i-drew-this-piece-for)

Pidge was inside her room, pacing around. She tried to calm down by tapping her fingers together, each one on her thumb, one by one. Matt had told her to try it, said it would relieve stress or something. She sighed and rubbed her temple.

”I don't get it, how ca- Ow!” She looked down at her hand and saw a deep cut that wasn't there before. Blood was building up at a steady rate and the skin around it was red and slightly puffy.

”How did... That happen?” Her voice was a little shaky, but mostly curious. It wasn't like there was horrible pain or anything. She just wanted to know more.

Gashes and bruises kept popping up on her, and they hurt. Most of the time, they were all pretty light- no worse than the stuff she got on an average mission. But... It didn't make sense. Where were they coming from? Was it some kind of alien thing? Something to do with Green?

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. ”Okay, okay, just gotta figure this out!”

She thought back to the last time she encountered the Galra. They were probably the cause of this- but then again that didn't make sense. How? Why wouldn't she be dead? Why this minor pain that's more than manageable?

”OkAY then-” Pidge winced and looked at a bruise materializing on her right arm. It was one of the worse ones- had dark blue and red and a yellow tint fading in.

”Alright, alright...” She sat down on her bed and thought. Just... Follow the Galra logic for now. Yeah. Why not? She had... A mission. Last week. Did... Did anything happen?

She rubbed her eyes and thought back to the mission. She figured she would go through each step- figure out HOW the Galra would do this.

It was a simple mission. Pidge only remembered one thing being weird and she brushed it aside before, but now... 

It was barely anything, though. Weirder things with no outcome had happened. It was ridiculous.

”Pidge!” She jumped as she heard Lance swing the door open, his voice drawn out, looking tired. ”Come on we gotta-” His eyes widened and he stepped back, ”Whoa. What's up with your hand?” 

Pidge looked at the gash and jumped, fumbling to cover it. ”Oh! Yeah, I, uh, just cut myself a little. On accident of course!” She forced a small smile. She didn't want them to know when she wasn't even sure what was going on. Plus, they would get all protective over her, ”Yeah.”

”Okay, weirdo...” Lance's eyes were narrowed and his eyebrows were furrowed in concern, ”Anyway, come on, we gotta train.”

”Sure, okay, ” She followed and sighed, ”Training? Really?”

”Yep,” Lance groaned and glanced back at her, ”Shiro has been upping it for a while now.” 

”Yeah,” Pidge nodded and glanced at her hand, ”I've noticed that.”

”I love the guy, but he's paranoid,” Lance mumbled, looking down, ”I'm sure we don't need THIS MUCH training. The Galra has been laying off us for a while anyway. We're still kids! We need some time to chill.”

”Could mean they're planning something,” Pidge shrugged, ”But can you blame Shiro for being paranoid? He was kept captive for a, uh... Long time. Do we know how long exactly?”

So were Matt and her Dad. Or... So are Matt and her Dad. Maybe. She didn't know. And she hated that she didn't know. There was so much that she still had to figure out and she didn't have time for training and random injuries popping up out of nowhere.

”Yeah...” Lance nodded and huffed, ”Whatever, we'll just try to ask him to end it earlier today or something. He's reasonable, if not annoyingly paranoid and overworking.”

Pidge mumbled an agreement and looked away. She really didn't want to train like this... 

Then she straightened up as her heart started beating fast and she felt herself get hot and cold... at the same time? Her right side felt like she was on fire, and she felt herself sweating. Her left side felt like she was freezing, and she could feel her goosebumps.

She looked to make sure Lance wasn't looking and then poked her left arm with her right hand. She couldn't help suck air through her teeth and whisper, ”Quiznack!” It all felt so hot and cold and wrong.

”Pidge? You okay?” Lance whipped around and gasped, ”Jesus Christ, you're blue, Pidge! And... Burning up and sweating? Pidge, what's wrong?”

Pidge opened her mouth to talk, but she found herself not being able to. Blackish blue spots danced around in her eyes. The floor seemed to fall from under her and she collapsed. She felt a rush as she went down, fast, before her eyes slammed shut and everything went dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her eyes opened and she looked around. She saw everyone other than Shiro and Coran crowded around her. She felt... Fine? 

That couldn't be right. She was just burning. And freezing. And covered in gashes and bruises. With... Lance? Yeah. Who was the cause? Pidge was thinking something before she blacked out. But what was she thinking? Something... Something about the-

”Pidge, you're awake!” Lance grabbed her arm before being pulled back by Keith and Hunk.

”Yeah-” She sat up and looked around. She was in the Medical Room. Not a pod? She was relieved -she hated pods- but confused.

”What...” She looked at her arms and blinked up at them, ”I'm okay again?” She had small bruises and shallow cuts, but they seemed to just... Heal. For no reason.

”Yeah, ” She blinked and looked at Allura, who seemed slightly angry, though more frustratedly worried than anything, ”Why were you ’not okay’ before? Is this another one of your experiments? Do we need to prepare for an alien to crash through here, yelling about a tiny goblin stealing their potions?”

She rolled her eyes, ”TWO TIMES I get bored and decide to have some unorthodox fun and you guys don't let it go...”

Keith huffed and glares at her, ”One time is all it takes, Pidge, nonetheless twice!”

”ANYWAY,” Lance glared at Keith, then looked at Pidge, ”D-Do you have any idea how this happened?”

”I don't know, ” Pidge rubbed her eyes and felt her nose get runny. Really fast and really suddenly. But it was weird, it felt thicker and was burning a little and the bridge of her nose kinda hurt, too, and... Oh.

”Oh, no, I know what this is...” Then she yelled out as there was a sharp pain in her nose. 

”Pidge!” Lance grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the bed. Pidge was already about to stand up so it wasn't too forceful or anything.

”Your nose is swelling badly...” Allura mumbled, mostly to herself. She tentatively touched it and Pidge winced.

”Doesn't hurt that muc- QUIZnaack-” She sat down and put her hand over her cheek. She looked at her hand and there was blood, and her cheek felt like that one time she bet Lance she could stay on top of Blue for 30 seconds while he tried to get her off like one of those Mechanical Bulls and she immediately flew off, before Blue even got more than 20 feet in the air. and skidded to the ground and some rocks got stuck in her cheek and it took Allura 15 minutes to fish them all out. Just... A little worse.

”Where did that even come from?!” Hunk squeaked, grabbing cotton and disinfectant(Or at least Pidge was pretty sure that was the Altean equivalent of disinfectant) and dabbed her cheek.

She sucked air through her teeth and spat, ”Quiznack that hurts!”

”Sorry,” Hunk murmured as he grabbed water and tried to wipe the continuous stream of blood away, ”This is bleeding a lot!”

”Why is this even happening?! What could even be causing this?!” Keith snapped, shoving some cotton and disinfectant toward Hunk, who grabbed it, gratefully.

”Maybe some kind of alien sickness that's developed in the last few thousand years?” Allura suggested with a small, panicked shrug. She obviously had no idea what she 

Pidge tuned them out and laid back, trying to think. She sighed and winced as she felt minor pain all over, like small cuts. She had been through much worse pain by now. It was more confusing than anything. She thought it was the Galra at first, but... How? Why? When? Wouldn't they just... Kill her if they could do this? And why JUST her? It didn't make sense.

Usually, she was good at connecting things but her brain felt all fuzzy, like it was full of wool and cotton. Or something. She couldn't think straight and it was annoying.

Pidge groaned and pushed herself up. Lance ran over and shoved her back down, gently but it still annoying as Hell to her. 

”Pidge, sit down, we don't know what's going on!” His eyes were wide and he was talking fast. She almost didn't understand what he was saying.

”Lance, shut up, ” She pushed him and stood, ”I'm getting a drink. Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to ask, where are Coran and Shiro? I would expect Shiro all around me like a worried Mom while Coran blabbers on about some alien thing that I only understand half of and makes basically no sense and hardly has any relevance to the current circumstance that we all kinda appreciate because it eases the tension.”

”Oh, yeah, after you got better or... Whatever this is-” Keith circled his hand around her, ”-They decided to go try and figure out any kind of information. Coran went to some weird alien library and Shiro went with him to ask the locals questions.”

”Oh, cool,” Pidge started to walk out, despite the other four's weird panicky noises and gestures, ”I'm gonna get some food. And probably a little bit of juice. You guys call it juice? Whatever you guys have that's closest to juice.”

She finally had a second to herself and looked down. For the first time, she realized she was in a hospital gown, except it was light green with some weird, white Altean words on it. From what she knew from her short-lived Altean lessons, it said stuff like, ’Get Well Soon’, ’Voltron Sends You Best Of Luck!’ and the last one that she could actually semi-read, she was 80% had the word, ’Owie!’ or ’Booboos!’ in it. Seemed like it was made for a small child- Which, to be fair, she kinda was.

She hummed to herself as she walked and tapped her finger against her leg to the tune.

”Pidge, wait!” Keith grabbed her shoulder and swung her around, a little too harsh- or at least it felt rough, ”Come on, we don't know what's going on.”

”Yeah, but I do know I want to get a snack and I'm not in that much pain right now, so...” Pidge turned around and rolled her eyes, ”Call me if you need something.”

She continued humming to herself more. She stiffened and opened her mouth to yell- but nothing came out. There was a pain in her back, like a gash, and she felt warm, thick liquid flowing down her back. 

She would've fallen to her knees if Keith hadn't rushed over and caught her. Her mouth felt dry for some reason- really dry. Almost... Hot and-

A strangled scream escaped her mouth as her mouth seemed to catch on fire. She spat and wheezed. It was like boiling water got poured in her mouth. 

Everything faded away until the pain in her mouth subsided. It wasn't until then she realized blood was leaking out of her mouth and she was back in the room- this time Hunk and Allura were gone and it was just Lance and Keith.

She shook her head as their voices faded in and out.

”Shut up, Mullet, I'm doing my best!”

”Your ’bEsT’ obviously isn't good enough, Lance!”

”Why don't YOU help me disinfect the gashes?!”

”I'm trying to- Oh quiznack what was that?! I'm doing my own thing, Lance!”

”You're not doing that great of a jo-”

”Guys! Hey!” She hissed, her voice scratchy and hoarse, ”Stop fighting, you idiots, and tell me what happened.” Though, she noticed the pain in her throat was easing fast, WAY too fast. Then again, she made that other miraculous recovery, too.

”Hunk and Allura left to get more supplies after you got a bad gash in your back and your mouth started burning, ” Lance explained, while trying his best to cover her never-ending wounds, ”And we're trying to take care of you. You feel better?”

Keith handed her some water and ran back over to the machines- which she was sure he had no idea how to use- so she took a small sip of the water and cleared her throat, ”Little.”

”Huh,” Pidge glanced at Lance, who was staring at the heart monitor, ”You seem like you've... Calmed down. Your heart rate is normal. This can't be right, your heart rate should be at least slightly elevated...”

”I mean, I'm not really calm...” Pidge rubbed her eyes, ”More just... Tired.” Which was weird, she was hardly ever tired. And this didn't feel like tired-tired. It felt closer to bleeding out-tired.

Her eyelids were heavy and her tongue felt foreign in her own mouth. She got sudden rushes of chills over her whole body.

She almost allowed her eyes to shut when...

”PIDGE NO!” Her eyes snapped open as she saw Lance rushing toward her. He grabbed her shoulder and started shaking her.

”ALLURA, HUNK!” Keith was leaning out the door and yelling, while looking at the heart monitor.

Pidge glanced at the heart monitor. She mumbled, ”'A iizack appan?” Her tongue want working right. She couldn't move it but it kinda moved a little sometimes in the wrong direction 

Lance opened his mouth, then his panicked expression melted into confusion and he whispered, ”The Hell was that?”

Hunk and Allura ran in, Hunk dropping a lot of cotton, bottles, and bandages behind him. Keith grabbed some supplies and sifted through them.

”Okay, anything in here help for a heart being slowed down?” Keith looked at Allura, panic in his eyes.

”Heart being-” Allura gasped and rushed toward the monitor, ”I'm pretty sure this isn't normal for your human hearts!”

”I assure you, ” Lance was sitting Pidge up, ”It isn't.” He turned to Pidge and whispered, ”Okay, don't choke on your own tongue now. Yeah, just look down, sit up, and don't... Die.”

”Ohay, ” She let herself lean on him. Usually, she hated showing any signs of weakness- they all saw her as smaller and weaker than her and she didn't want to give them any more reasons to- but she had to this time. She could barely even move by herself.

”Should we call Shiro and Coran?” Hunk was helping Keith with something. Probably getting supplies. She could hardly tilt her head and they were out of her range.

”No, we still don't know what this is...” Allura sighed and rubbed her temples, ”Just... Yeah call them and tell them what's going on, but not too urgently. They'll stop looking and rush over. We need to know at first.”

”Okay, ” Keith nodded and walked in front of Pidge's range of view, ”I can do it.”

Pidge looked at them and swallowed a little. She could see that her heart rate was getting slower and slower. Allura seemed to be panicking more, but trying not to show it. She... She wanted Shiro and Coran here because if... If...

”Wha ih I onh surie? I... I ant em oo be ere.”

Everyone was quiet. What felt like hours went by until she heard Allura whisper, ”No one's gonna die. You'll be okay. I promise.”

Pidge wasn't sure if they even knew what she said- She could hardly even tell what she said after hearing it. But she was sure they all got the gist by her tone and the circumstances.

And Allura promised it would be fine.

That meant... Basically nothing of course. But Pidge knew they would all try their best. And... And that was enough for her to know for now.

She wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to drift into sleep. She was so tired... She couldn't move... Everything was getting dark...

”...idge!”

”...no no no she ca...!”

”...all Shiro and Cor...!”

”...ere now!”

Their voices faded in and out. She figured that meant it was time to go. Sleep. Maybe die. She didn't have the energy to really... Care.

Her eyes closed and she let herself go limp. She heard a muffled ”beeeeeep” from the heart monitor.

She was... Dead.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dead

.

.

.

Dead

.

.

.

She was

.

.

.

Dead.

The words echoed around in her head. When her eyes snapped open she was in a black room. Not... Room. A void?

”Is anyone here?” She seemed to be floating... Nothing was around for all she could see.

”Green Paladin...” She whipped around and saw Green standing there, except she was... Around the same size as a lion, although noticeably smaller.

”You shouldn't be here.” Her voice was flat, emotionless, and yet Pidge could tell Green was panicked and worried.

”Am I... Dead?” Pidge blinked and rubbed her eyes, ”I heard a flatline. I should be... Well, I don't actually know where I should be...”

Pidge was raised in a house where religion wasn't... A priority, per se. It wasn't that the Holt family were atheists, they always just had a, ’Well, we'll see when we get there’ attitude. That was before everything happened with the Kerberos mission. Ever since then, Pidge had been praying to any God, every God for things to be alright again.

”Not for much longer, Paladin...” Green nudged Pidge's side and looked at her. Pidge swore she saw emotions in her yellow mechanical eyes.

”What's going on, though, Green?” Pidge hugged Green's neck and heard a soft purring.

Silence.

”Green...?” The only sound was her small, slightly raspy whisper. 

”It's gonna get a lot worse, my Cub.”

”C-Cub...?”

”I'm sorry. I can't help you. But when the time comes, you will know what to do, Green Cub, ” Green pulled back and looked at Pidge, ”I chose you for a reason. You're cunning, smart, and although it gets you into trouble in some instances, you're always curious to know more. I'm afraid I can't supply you with answers for now, but I'm sure you'll make the best choice- Whether it be for you or your team.”

Pidge looked at Green, eyes wide, ”I don't understand... What are you talking about, girl? What choice? What do you mean by, ’you or your team’?”

Green poked Pidge with her nose and Pidge heard an anxious purr, ”I can't give you answers, for now, Green Cub. I wish I had more.”

”I...” Pidge shook her head and looked around, ”It's okay, girl. Do you... Have anything else for m-”

She felt a tingling sensation and heard a loud growl from Green. Green immediately grew much larger, seemingly defensively. Her chest got cold and she started shaking.

”It'll get worse, Green Cub, please be as prepared as you can!” Green turned and looked down at Pidge, ”I can't help you anymore... But remember to go with your gut. I trust you, my Paladin.”

”Trust m-? AGH!” She screamed as a shock went through her body. She felt like her chest was gonna explode.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beep

.

.

.

Beep

.

.

.

Beep beep beep

.

.

.

”I trust you, my Paladin.”

Pidge sat up with a gasp, clutching at her throat. The words rang in her head. 

”Pidge!” Lance ran forward and hugged her, before she shoved him back and coughed.

”Are you okay?” Hunk ran toward her, but kept his distance.

She nodded a little, ”I- I think-” She was cut off as she screamed again. Another shock went through her body and she clawed at her chest. 

”Pidge!” Keith's voice was shaky to her ears. Everything was blurry until the pain faded out. 

The only sound was the ringing in her ears, the faint beating of the heart monitor, and her heavy breathing and awkward coughing.

”She's... Okay...”

Allura's soft whisper broke the silence. Lance turned and looked at her, obviously confused- not that he wasn't always confused, but it was relatively justified this time.

”How is this ’okay’, Allura?!” He demanded, gesturing to Pidge, ”She looks horrible!”

”Thanks,” She hissed a little and swallowed, ”Anyone have water or like juice? Does juice exist here, I've asked several times and got basically no answer-” She paused and coughed for a bit and then continued, ”-and consider the whole ’kinda just died’ situation, you guys could be a little nicer to me, just saying-!”

”Juice exists here,” Allura sighed and looked at Hunk, ”Do you know where the juice is?”

Hunk nodded and walked out, seeming just as nervous as always.

”Pidge, how do you feel?” Allura asked, softly, ”Can you breathe okay? You seem to be talking just fine...”

”I feel like crap, Princess,” She sat up, ”But better than before. Why?”

”Your heart rate is semi-normal...” Allura blinked and stepped closer to Pidge, ”Do you still have scratches?”

Pidge nodded and pulled the sleeve up her arm and looked at the scratches. They hadn't really changed from before. Maybe looked a little more red and swollen. 

”Yeah,” Pidge nodded and rubbed her eyes, ”Anyone... Figure anything out about this?”

”No,” Lance shook his head, ”Coran and Shiro will be back soon, though.”

”Alright...” She laid back and looked up, ”Stupid back... Still hurts.”

”You need anything?” Keith leaned closer to her, seeming uncharacteristically nervous.

”Nope,” Pidge shook her head, ”Just that juice when Hunk gets back.”

As if on cue, Hunk raced in and but a glass of dark purple juice down. Pidge mumbled a thank you and took a sip. The cold made her throat sting a little.

Pidge nodded and looked at Hunk, ”What type of juice is this?”

”Not sure, I can't really... Read Altean labels...” Hunk mumbled and looked down, ”It was a fruit on it that looked vaguely like a single grape? Or something...”

”Hope it isn't grape,” Pidge muttered.

”Why is everyone against grape?!” Keith looked at them, ”Grape is a fine fruit!”

”Not grape-flavored products!” Lance glared at him, ”That crap tastes like purple, NOT grape!”

Pidge tuned out everyone else and was only vaguely aware of Lance and Keith arguing. It was a stupid argument, too. But then again when were their arguments NOT stupid?

”Ffff-” Pidge bit her lip then yelled, ”QUIZNACK!”

”Pidge, what's wrong?!” Hunk ran over, along with Lance and Keith.

”I'm going to stAB SOMEONE, I swear!” She hissed through her teeth, ”My leg is burning!”

”Oh-” Keith pulled her little hospital gown up a little and jumped back.

”She IS burning!” He whispered, eyes wide, ”Those are burns, Allura! Genuine burns!”

”This is new!” Allura looked at the heart monitor, ”Pidge, your heart's been through a lot already. Try your best to calm down.”

”Calm down-” Pidge looked at her, eyes wide, ”I am BURNING TO DEATH and getting random scratched and bruises all over, PRINCESS! You go through this then tell me to ’calm down’!” She knee Allura meant well, but the pain was shredding her already paper-thin patience and Allura telling her to ’calm down’ was pushing all the wrong buttons.

”Pidge,” Allura began, hesitantly, ”I didn't mean it like that. I know that this is hard, but your heart could potentially... Explode-” Everyone started talking and Allura quickly added, ”But I don't know how human hearts work exactly so I'm not really su-”

”My heart could WHAT?!” Pidge yelled then closed her eyes and shouted, ”QUIZNACK!” as her other leg lit up in pain.

”Pidge, try and calm down, we'll get some pain killers and ointment,” Lance was looking around, digging through all the stuff that Hunk had got.

”Yeah, try to drink the juice!” Hunk had an obviously fake smile and looked nervous as always.

”Thanks,” Pidge shot him a glare, biting her lip to try not to scream anymore.

”Your heart rate is going slightly down now!” Allura looked at her with a smile.

”Good,” Keith was rummaging through the supplies with Lance.

Pidge tried to calm down by breathing and singing in her head, one of her favorites. 

’I can't help the fact I like to be alone...’

”Good, Pidge, your heart is nearing normal!” Allura's voice was muffled as she closed her eyes and focused on just the song.

’It might sound kinda sad but that's just what I seem to know...’

She bit her lip and let out a soft whimper as there was a sharp pain in her leg- like a stab.

’I tend to handle things usually by myself...’

”Okay, get more bandages and gauze! Fast, Lance! We do....” Keith's voice faded away.

’And I can't ever seem to try and ask for help.’

’I'm sitting here’

’Crying in my prom dress’

’I'd be the prom queen if crying was a contest...’

Pidge couldn't help but be confused when she heard another raspy voice whisper, ”I'd be the prom queen if crying was a contest...” a little after she sang it in her head.

’Makeup is running down...’

”M-Makeup is running down...” The voice echoed her.

She focused on the voice, wanting to identify it, and felt a splitting headache. Like something was snapping into place. She closed her eyes right and when they snapped open she was in a black void, seeing an alien tied to a chair. It seemed as if the alien had all of the same wounds as Pidge.

She walked over to them and softly sang, ”How did I get here, I need to know...”

”H-How did I get here, I need t-to know...” They looked up at her with a small smile.

”I guess I maybe had a couple expectations!” She grinned and started singing later, the alien copying her in a raspier voice, ”I thought I'd get to them. But no I didn't~”

”I guess I thought that prom was gonna be fun, ” She looked at the alien and they both smiled, ”But now I'm sitting on the floor and all I wanna do is run.”

”M-May I ask what a prom is?” They asked with a small whimper as there was another cut.

”Of course!” Pidge ran over and leaned on the table, ”A prom is a human thing- which is what I am. It's like... A party! But only for younger people and we only get one, or only one that everyone cares about. Senior Prom. You go buy expensive clothes and jewelry, try to get a date. I've never had one, I'm only, like, 14 and I left earth LONG BEFORE I was a Senior.”

Now that she was closer, she got a better look at the alien. It was scrawny, seemed to be covered in fur, though the several gashes and blood made it harder to tell, it seemed to have blue-ish black fur. They had four skinny ears, two on each side, that were drooping, and the second ear on the left side had a chunk of it ripped out. They had a muzzle, though it was short, and the nose was dark blue and had a shape similar to a cat or lion. They had brown, peasant-looking clothes and Pidge guessed that's what they were. Their hands looked like paws, but with five human-like fingers. 

”So...” The alien seemed glad to be distracted from the torture for a second- and Pidge was too. The pain seemed like a faint buzzing when she was here... Wherever here was, ”Why is the person who made this sad?”

Pidge shrugged, ”Guess she didn't get a date. But songs aren't really supposed to have meaning, sometimes. Sometimes, it doesn't have to make perfect sense. It's just a nice beat.”

”Huh...” The alien nodded, ”Songs are nice.”

Pidge smiled and nodded, ”Yeah, they are. Hey, do you have a name or-” She cut herself off with a scream as a shock went through her. The void seemed to be shattering and the alien disappeared.

Her eyes opened and she was looking at... Shiro and Coran. Oh... What just happened?

”Pidge!” Shiro was looking at her, ”A-Are you okay?!”

”What...?” Pidge sat up and rubbed her eyes. She straightened up as the pain hit her and groaned, ”Shhhoot that's what- yep-”

”Did you two find anything?” Allura asked from behind Shiro.

”No,” Coran shook his head, ”There were some similarities but nothing I could confidently diagnose Number 5 here with.”

”Shoot,” Pidge took another sip of the juice and sighed. Her throat was raw from screaming, though it didn't seem burned, even though she swore that it was like boiling water was being poured in her mouth earlier. Maybe it was just numb.

”Now what?” Keith tilted his head and looked at Shiro and Coran, ”What IS going on?”

”I don't know, Keith, ” Shiro sounded slightly aggressive, ”None of us know. All we can do for now is try and help Pidge's wounds.”

Pidge nodded and pulled her sleeves up. She was thinking about the alien, though. Who WAS that? Why did all the pain fade away there? It didn't... Make sense.

”Wait, what is that?” Lance walked forward and pointed at a specific spot on the side of her stomach.

”What-” Pidge looked down and her eyes widened. Oh. ”Huh...”

It was on a spot that was actually hurting a little more than all the other spots. It was pink and slightly puffy and the carving were deep. And... It had a pattern. A marking. There were six long, slightly curved, lines. Three on each side, each line getting slightly smaller as it went down. There was a surprisingly neat circle carved in as well.

Pidge looked down at it and blinked. She was exhausted and in constant aching pain after everything that just happened- and was still happening- and could only think of one word to honestly and accurately describe her current feeling.

”Ouch.”

”Ouch-” Hunk looked at her, ”What is THAT?!”

”I don't know,” Pidge nodded and took her glasses off, ”But it does not look good... Allura, Coran? Anything you guys know? Any old Alte-”

”It's the Galran.”

Everyone looked at Shiro, who had a weird look. He seemed to be breathing off and had a dark... Expression? He stepped forward and looked at it again before nodding and continuing.

”It's how they mark their prisoners. Three on each side... That means they don't care about this prisoner or think they have info. It's mostly about the torture.”

Everyone was quiet before Pidge whispered, ”Oh.” and set the glasses down on the table by her juice.

”So...” Lance's voice was soft, unlike usual, ”Now what?”

”Now...” Allura looked at them, ”Now we figure out how the Galran did this. Pidge, do you remember anything?”

”Well...” Pidge rubbed her eyes, ”No, I don't-” She straightened up, ”Wait! T-There was a thing! On our last mission when I ran into a certain room, there was a flash of light and a bunch of mist.”

”And you didn't tell anyone?!” Keith snapped, looking at her.

”Well, I didn't think anything like this would happen, KEITH!” She glared at him, ”How was I supposed to know what it was?! I didn't know any of this was gonna happen!”

”It's still weird!” Keith stepped closer and glared at her, ”We could've been prepared for this! Or at least tried to prepare for something! Done somet-”

”Oh, SHUT UP, Keith!” Pidge snapped and pushed herself up, wincing as it made the pain worse, ”You think I don't realize I screwed up? I'm being tortured! Also, does anyone know who that alien was?! Did anyone else see that? Am I losing my mind or what?!”

”What alien?” Hunk looked at her. She blinked and realized everyone was staring at her. She could see the pity in their eyes. She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth.

”When I was trying to calm down, I sang to myself in my head and I was in a black void with an alien,” Pidge stated, as calm as she could, ”I don't know who they are. But they had the same scratches as me and were strapped down to a table like they were being tortured. I didn't really feel... Pain there? I mean I felt pain but like... I wasn't thinking about it? I've never seen that alien before in my life but it was almost like I knew them.”

”Huh...” Allura looked down, ”If the Galra is up to this, I'd bet that Haggar has something to do with it. She always has something to do with it.”

”Yeah,” Keith nodded and leaned back on the wall, ”She is, like, a witch.”

Pidge opened her mouth as she felt a stabbing in her back, but nothing came out. Her mouth clamped shut, seemingly out of her control.

Everything hurt. She wanted to scream, but her mouth was being forced shut. She felt this... Thing in her back being twisted around. The skin tearing and breaking. Blood pouring out.

Everyone else was talking. Lance, Keith, Shiro, and Coran had even walked out. She wasn't sure why. Everything was buzzing. And muffled. And hurting.

She forced her hand to reach out and tried to open her mouth. The monitor started beeping and someone... Seemed like Allura gasped and rushed over. Everything was going black. It felt like her back was being torn apart.

Someone was moving her, putting her on her stomach. She could hear them whispering something, but she couldn't make out the words. She was laying on her stomach and trying to hold back her tears.

She heard something that vaguely sounded like a question and she could only manage to choke out one word.

”It... H-hurts...” 

”I know,” Someone cooed in her ear, but it wasn't- It wasn't Lance. Or Keith or Hunk or Allura or Shiro or Coran. No, it was... It was something else.

”Trust me...” The raspy voice continued, sending a chill down her spine.

”It'll only get worse, Green Paladin.”

She choked a gasp-like noise and starting spitting out blood. She didn't know- No. No, she knew. Who else could it be?

”H... Haggar...” She spat out and looked around.

”Haggar?” Allura's voice was soft and muffled, ”What do you mean, Pidge?”

Pidge yelled out at she felt her whole body twist as another shock went throughout her body. She could only hear the ringing in her ears. Everything hurt so bad it was almost numb.

She wanted to go home. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to be back home. With her family. Without having to deal with all this Voltron alien war crap.

”...DGE!” The ringing in her ears faded and she heard the yells. It was too loud.

Her eyes opened and she looked around. She flinched as she saw all the blood surrounding her.

”Mmff...” She looked at them and sat up, with the help of Hunk, who was leaning her against a bunch of pillows. Her back was all bandaged up, but it still stung. A lot. She tried her best to hide it, but at this point, everything hurt. 

”Pidge, what were you talking about?” Allura looked at her, ”You said Haggar. What did you mean?”

”I-I heard her...” Pidge looked at them and tried to push down the urge to break down crying right there, ”She s-said it was-” She took a shaky breath, ”It was gon-gonna get worse.”

Pidge wasn't sure if everyone went quiet or if her ears just stopped working. But she didn't care about that as much when the ship started shaking, violently, and she fell off the bed.

”WHAT WAS THAT?!” Lance pushed himself up and looked around.

Pidge felt like all of her pain just increased tenfold and couldn't help the fact a couple of tears slipped out.

She slowly pushed herself up before Shiro rushed over and help her back into the bed. This time, she gripped the edge of the bed in case it shook again.

And it did.

A lot more violently.

Everyone yelled out and Pidge felt like she was gonna pass out from the pain again. 

”Lance, Keith, go check what that was and be prepared to come back and grab Shiro and Hunk in case you need to get in your Lions!” Allura ordered, and the two of them ran out. She turned to Coran, ”Go check the ship's engine and make sure nothing is broken. We might need to get out of here, fast.”

”ALLURA!” Keith ran into the room, Lance not very far behind, voice in a whisper-yell, ”THE GALRA ARE IN CASTLE! INSIDE CASTLE!”

Lance nodded, ”We need to board this room up or something, they're all over the place!”

”Are you kidding me?” Hunk looked around, eyes wide in panic, ”Wh-What about Pidge? She's in REALLY bad shape, we can't try to move her! She could die if we don't get this sorted out soon an-”

”Hunk,” Pidge muttered and shot him a glare, ”N-Not hel-” She broke off coughing and spat out a little blood along the way.

”Pidge!” Lance ran over and reached out to touch her then paused and his hand was left awkward hovering over her shoulder, ”Y-You okay...?”

She groaned and nodded a little, waving him away. He reluctantly backed off. 

”We gotta figure out a plan,” Shiro sighed and looked around, ”Okay. We board up this room, Lance and Keith go outside to fend them off, Allura, you stay in here, Coran, try and get the Castle's defenses going, Hunk and I will try to get to our Lions and shoot their ships. Any protest?”

Everyone shook their head. Pidge hated that she was useless now but what else is she supposed to do? She's weak. Injured. Broken.

She looked down at the blood surrounding her and became more aware of the pain around her entire body.

She couldn't do anything to help anyone and her recklessness was the reason everyone was in danger. 

Beep.

Keith was right. She should've told them. She should've gone and gotten help the second she got the injuries. Maybe no one would be in this position right now.

Beep beep.

She hated it. She hated the pain. Seeing everyone's distressed looks. What if she died right now? She didn't like that she was hurting them.

Beep beep beep.

”Pidge? Pidge, your heart rate spiked. Pidge, what's wrong?”

If only she wasn't so prideful. If only she didn't need help. Like a kid. That's what she was, wasn't it? Just a kid. She was just a stupid kid. She wasn't a strong, smart, resourceful Paladin. She was a weak, emotional, little kid. She-

”Pidge!” Allura grabbed her shoulders and snapped Pidge out of it, ”Calm down! What's wrong?”

Pidge looked down and mumbled, ”S-Sorry. Just... Stressed. About everything going on.” She was a liar, too. But she couldn't dump her crap on everyone right now.

”I understand, ” Allura nodded with a warm smile. 

No, she doesn't.

”But try your best to stay calm, okay?”

My best won't be good enough.

”Okay, Allura, I will,” Pidge pushed the thoughts away and winced as there was another sharp pain on the side of her arm, and she knew a bruise would form. ”I'm sorry.” That was true.

”Don't be,” Allura turned and walked to the heart monitor, ”You didn't do anything wrong.”

Pidge stifled a dry chuckle. That wasn't true. She did a lot wrong. A lot... 

She bit her tongue to not tell out as she felt something stab her in the side. Tears formed in her eyes, but she didn't wanna bother anyone. So, she hugged her knees and pulled the blanket up a little closer. 

She heard yells from Keith and Lance outside and prayed that they were okay. They had to be okay. Everything had to be okay.

It had to be... Okay.

There was crashing and yells outside the room. She laid back, letting the pain wash over her. What else could she do? Every second it hurt more. She felt shocks flood her body, but they seemed relatively minor for now.

”Pidge, your heart rate is spiking again,” Allura mumbled, looking somewhere else, ”Try and calm down, if you can.”

Pidge let out a small squeak and looked down. She just wanted to... Be okay again. With her family. Her friends. Everyone okay. 

She bit back a shout of pain when her body jerked upward from a shock. She felt her mouth shut, completely involuntary, like before. Her body started to thrash around and her vision got spotty, like she was having a seizure.

Allura hadn't turned away. Pidge's thrashed were surprisingly quiet, and Allura was hyper focusing on the screen. Tears well in her eyes. She heard the monitor's beeping slow. She was gonna... Die. Wasn't she? 

”A-” She tried to choke out and her mouth was clamped shut again. She couldn't do... Anything. She was gonna die.

Maybe it would be better like that. Maybe... Maybe the Galra would back off. They'd find a more capable Paladin for Green. She deserved better, after all.

”Green Cub...”

The words echoed in her head.

”My Cub...”

She shook her head as more pain shot through ad she started shaking enough to get Allura's attention. She heard a scream and more muffled noises and she convulsed.

”But I'm sure you'll make the best choice- Whether it be for you or your team.”

Pidge still didn't understand. It didn't make sense. What choice? For her or her team? What did that m-

Pidge felt a stabbing pain and, finally, let out a scream. She could see Allura looking down at her before she swung her head around. Pidge looked at felt chills go down her back. The door was open. The Galran were walking inside. Lance, Keith, Hunk, Shiro, and Coran were all being held by different Galran soldiers and Pidge saw Haggar walking closer.

Allura stepped in front of Pidge and put a hand on her shoulder. Pidge would've told her that touching her anywhere hurt right now, but she could hardly breathe nonetheless talk. Plus, she didn't want to show Haggar it was working.

Of course, that was probably obvious by how she looked. Her eyes were droopy and she was pretty sure she had at least a busted lip or a black eye or something. She was in constant pain and felt like dying, but she couldn't. Her friends needed her. She couldn't... Just die. She couldn't. 

And, though she would never admit it, she was scared. Terrified. Of dying. Of the pain. Of losing people. Of hurting people. Of everything. She was scared of all of it. 

”What do you want, witch?!” Allura spat.

”I notice your little Paladin is hurt,” Haggar walked forward and held her hand out toward Pidge and slightly squeezed, ”What a shame.”

Pidge winced and the pain increased as Haggar squeezed her hand. Haggar nodded to one of the other Galrans and they whispered something into a communication device- or at least Pidge was guessing that. 

There was a crushing pain in her throat. Her mouth filled with a warm, thick liquid with a metallic taste and she soon realized it was blood. Perfect. 

She coughed and spat it out, then went to take a deep breath but there was just more blood. She... couldn't breathe. Allura was yelling at Haggar, but Pidge couldn't tell what.

Everything was blurry. Her lungs were screaming. She needed air and she couldn't get it. She was sure she would die soon. That's how it worked. This was it. The end. She was gonna... Die.

”Now, now,” Haggar's raspy voice became clear as Pidge's throat cleared and she started coughing and gasping, ”I can't let you die yet.”

The pain faded away. Pidge was okay. She was fine. Fine. She glanced at her arms and... No scratches or bruises.

”Pidge!” Allura glanced at her, but was facing the Galra, in a defensive position, ”Are you okay?”

”Y-Yeah,” Pidge swallowed and glared at Haggar, ”I'm fine.”

”I severed your connection to the alien we were torturing on the ship,” Haggar turned to one of the other Galrans, ”In fact, tell them to kill him. We have no purpose for him anymore. He has no information and the Paladin isn't connected to him.”

The Galran nodded and mumbled something into the communication device and Pidge gasped as she felt a stabbing pain in her chest, just for a second. It was just a flash of pain.

”No!” Pidge reached out and looked down. Tears were streaming down her cheek and she was grabbing her shirt.

”You might still feel that,” Haggar grinned and waved her hand to Pidge, ”Your connection was faint. But he's dead now.”

Pidge's stomach was swirling around and she fought back the urge to gag. Haggar was sick. She glared up at her and growled, ”What the Hell do you want?”

”Now,” Haggar waved her hand from Pidge to a Galran soldier, ”You two are connected.”

”And?” Pidge spat, ”You gonna put me through Round 2?! I can take whatever you throw at me.”

Haggar nodded to the Galran that Pidge was connected to, ”Go ahead.”

The Galra stepped closer to Lance and Pidge jumped forward, only being slightly held back by Allura, ”Leave him alone!”

”Now, now,” Haggar looked at Lance, ”Torture him. Have fun with it, okay?”

”STOP IT!” Pidge yelled, trying her best not to cry, ”TORTURE ME AGAIN INSTEAD LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

Hangar glanced at her with a twisted smile that struck fear into Pidge's very core.

”But don't you see, Green Paladin?” Pidge couldn't keep her breathing steady anymore, ”I am torturing you.”

Pidge put her hand to her mouth as an attempt to hold back her sobs. She was right. Watching Lance- watching ANY of her teammates get tortured was gonna hurt her more than anything physically they could do to her.

Her mind was racing. Come on, come on! She was the smart one! She had to be able to do this! She had to think faster, be faster, find an answer, help them, fix this, don't let him get hurt, do something other than sit there like an idiot, jus-

”Don't try to fight back,” The Galran she was connected to was pulling Lance away from the group, despite everyone else's shouting, ”You'll hurt your little friend.”

Pidge looked at them all, blurred by her tears. Lance looked terrified but he wasn't fighting back. He wasn't pushing. He wasn't doing anything in defense. 

Because of Pidge.

Hunk was sobbing. Full-on sobbing. He was quiet other than that. His eyes were shut, tight. Lance WAS his best friend, after all... And now he was gonna die.

Because of Pidge.

Coran was quiet, glancing around, quietly crying. He seemed to be looking at Allura a lot. It took a second before Pidge realized, but it was his duty to protect her. And now she could die.

Because of Pidge.

Keith was yelling, cursing, it was obvious he was holding back tears. She couldn't help but remember what he said before. ’We could've been prepared for this! Or at least tried to prepare for something! Done somet-’

He was right. It was her fault.

Shiro. SHIRO was crying. Almost as bad as Hunk. He had fallen apart. The Leader of all of them. He had fallen apart.

Because of HER. Because of Pidge.

She winced and let out a muffled whimper as Lance got punched, right in the face. She didn't wanna watch.

She screwed her eyes shut as she heard another blow land. Lance's muffled groans. The others' shouts.

Allura was digging her hand into Pidge's shoulder after each blow. It didn't seem to be on purpose, just that she was tensing and didn't realize she was still holding Pidge's shoulder.

Pidge hardly felt it though. Too much was going through her mind. She was numb to almost everything other than Lance's pain.

She could almost see herself doing it if she focused enough. She hated it. She hated that it was her fault. She hated that she couldn't do anything.

She hesitantly opened her eyes and couldn't hold back a loud sob when she finally saw what Lance looked like.

He was being held out by his arm and the Galra had a black eye so swelled up she was sure he couldn't see out of it anymore. His nose was almost completely covered in blood and looked like an ’L’ at this point. The Galran was carrying a bloodied knife and Lance had several small cuts all over him. Bloodied tears were streaming down his face.

Pidge looked down. This wasn't how it should've gone. What did Green even mean?! Why didn't she help her more? What did it mean, what choice was there, what was gonna happen?! 

It hit Pidge that... That if she didn't figure something out, and soon.

They lost.

The reality of that settled in. Forget about Matt. Dad. Mom. Everyone in the Universe. Everyone that Pidge knew and loved. 

She glanced at Lance, freaking Lance, who was being tortured because of her. Everyone else was next. Pidge had to think, she had to-

”Agh!” Lance yelled out as the Galran that Pidge was tethered to stabbed him in the side, then laughed. He. Laughed. 

These things didn't HAVE emotions, didn't care about them, they didn't HAVE mercy. They wouldn't stop unless Pidge did something.

She glanced at Allura and whispered, ”D... Do you have an idea or-”

Allura was staring at Lance, her eyes wide, tears streaming down her face, and Pidge couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.

This was her fault, wasn't it? She was the one connected to it. It was her fault. She looked down at her hands and it all hit her.

The best choice.

”But I'm sure you'll make the best choice- Whether it be for you or your team.”

Green was right.

Pidge looked around, this time thinking just for herself. She saw a million ways she could escape. Maybe even take Allura with her. But she'd have to leave everyone else behind. Logically, she could make it to Green and leave, but they'd all die or be taken captive by the Galra.

But if she was thinking for just everyone else the option was clear, clear as day.

She had to die.

The Galran torturing Lance, who was obviously the strongest one here, would die, it could shock the others enough for them to get out. 

Of course, Pidge would die, but... 

”But I'm sure you'll make the best choice- Whether it be for you or your team.”

Pidge now thought that was a dumb sentiment. The best choice WAS for her team.

Always.

She valued their lives over her's.

So, she looked around, eyes scanning for anything she could use, for a few seconds blocking all the other noises out, until she found it. 

She grinned, seeing a small blade on the tray table next to the bed. It was small, so she probably could just stab herself, she'd have to slit her neck. 

Her satisfied grin turned to a disgusted frown. It made her feel sick, having to plan her own death. She didn't want to do it. She was terrified to die, especially at her own hands. 

She was just a kid.

She didn't wanna die for the country, die for the cause. She just wanted to be okay.

But she wasn't.

She was slowly coming to peace with the idea. She took a deep breath and turned to Allura, ”Hey... You know I love you, right?”

Allura glanced at her, ”What are you talking about, Pidge?”

”Can you... Tell the others I love them? And I'm sorry. Especially Lance, since he's getting tortured.”

Allura looked at her, glancing at the Galra every so often, ”You can tell them that after this.”

”Not if my plan works...”

”Pidge-”

Pidge turned and grabbed the small blade. She still wasn't sure why it was there, but she was glad.

She dug it her throat, making sure to hit the veins, telling herself that it'd be over soon, that she'd be fine, that the pain wouldn't last long.

And she pulled.

And, after a flash of intense pain, it all went black.

She was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

”Green Cub!” Pidge's eyes opened and she looked around. She was in the void with Green again. She smiled and looked down.

”Guess I'm gone, huh?” She smiled, sadly, and rubbed her eyes, ”Ha... Did I... Make the right choice?”

Green nuzzled her cheek and purred, ”All choices were right. You just made a choice.”

Pidge couldn't hold it back anymore and started crying, loud, and, well, after years of hiding her tears from her family, then trying her best to look tough and emotionless to make up for her small size, age, and gender, she usually defaulted to silent tears.

”Green, I didn't wanna die!” She whisper-yelled, ”I wanted to find my f-f-” She hiccuped, ”-family! I wanted to go back!”

Green hugged her- or at least the best a slightly-smaller-than-an-average-sized-mechanical-Green-lion could.

”I didn't want to do this-” She sniffed and looked down, ”-This! I didn't want to be a freakin' Paladin! I j-” Hiccup, ”-I just wanna be with my fa-family!”

”I know,” Green purred, ”But don't worry. Now is not the time for your soul to leave.”

Pidge pulled away and looked at her, ”What are you talking about...?”

”Your family loves you, Paladin,” Green explained and Pidge fought back the urge to ask why, ”They won't let you leave. Not yet. You have more time left. More to do.”

Pidge had so many questions. How could they save her? Why did they love her? What if she didn't WANT any more time? What if she was done with all of this and wanted to just... Fade away? Go to wherever she should go? Be done with all of this fighting, fear, blood, war, all of it? 

What if she was done with living?

She didn't have any time to decide which question to ask before she got a headache and felt herself being shoved away from something. Not necessarily Green but SOMETHING was getting cut from her.

Cut...

Severed...

The Galran. The connection between them. It was gone. Pidge wasn't sure how but it was gone. 

”Green!” She yelled, her voice high-pitched and cracking, ”What's going on?! I'm scared, Green!”

”Don't worry,” Green's voice was calm and level, ”You're fine. You should be waking up soon. Don't worry, Green Cub.”

”I'm... Waking up?” Pidge asked, wiping her face, trying to stop crying.

”It may feel like we've only been here for a few minutes, but you've been unconscious for over a week, Green Cub.”

”Oh...”

”You're waking up now. You'll be fine.”

Pidge let out a kind of chuckle-scoff, ”No... No, I won't.”

”Eventually, you will,” Green stepped back and looked at Pidge, ”You and your family.”

”Green, I-” Pidge got cut off when she saw a bright light and a horrible ringing noise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

”...idge waking up soon...?”

”Is she waking up now?!”

”I think so!”

”Guys, come o-”

”QUIZNACK, SOMEONE GRAB HER!”

”Oh, sH-”

”LANGUAGE, KEITH!”

Pidge barely had enough energy to not pass out again, nonetheless process anything that was said.

All she knew was that someone had caught her and she was being piled with hugs and apologizes and ’are you okay?’s and she didn't understand for a second.

”What... Happened?” She asked, trying not to slur her words. She was exhausted. And sore.

”Don't you remember?” Lance looked down at her and Pidge noticed he had some bruises and band-aids and stuff on him. 

Then the memories hit her.

She jumped up and looked at them, particularly Lance, ”Oh, my God, I'm so so sorry! Lance, are you okay?! I didn't mean for you to get hurt, I didn't want any of you to get hurt, please, please don't be mad at me, I'll fix it, I sw-”

”Whoa, whoa!” Allura grabbed her shoulder, ”Pidge, calm down. No one is mad at you.”

”Really...?” Pidge sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes, ”You... You should be! I messed up and you guys got hurt from it! I should've said something, I should've done something, I should've cut myself sooner, I should've figured it out sooner, I-”

”’Should've’s don't help anyone,” Lance looked at her, smiling, ”It wasn't your fault.”

Pidge doubted that, but she didn't wanna argue. She didn't wanna fight. She didn't wanna do anything. She was exhausted. So, she reluctantly leaned into Hunk and cried. She couldn't hold anything back anymore. She started to crumple to the ground until Hunk grabbed her and lifted her up.

Pidge was exhausted, even though she had been passed out in one of those stupid pods for... What did Green say? She couldn't really remember.

”Pidge...?” She heard Shiro's soft voice say, before getting quieter, like he had turned to someone else, ”Come on, she looks like she's falling asleep, we should put her in her room and leave her alo-”

That woke Pidge up for a second. She shot her head and yelled, ”No, wait!” She was still crying like a little kid and it killed her. For everyone to see her so weak. Hell, just the fact that she needed to be carried by Hunk was embarrassing enough to her.

But she couldn't help it.

This was a lot for a kid to go through.

”I...” She felt her face get hot as everyone's pitty-filled gazes were on her. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes, tight, and forced the words out, ”I don't wanna be alone, okay?! So, please...” She paused and looked down, ”Don't... L-leave me... Alone.” 

She hated this, but she couldn't be alone right now. She refused to look up at them. She just looked down, tears streaming down her face.

”How about we all have a sleepover?” Hunk suggested, with a small smile, ”I mean, we can put on a movie or something. It'll be nice!”

”Ooh, YES!” Lance jumped up and looked at Pidge, ”You down for that?! It'll be so cool! We can watch a movie of your choice!”

Pidge smiled and rolled her eyes, ”Y-Yeah. Let's do that.”

So, Hunk and Coran got some popcorn, Lance and Keith got blankets, Shiro and Allura got pillows, Pidge picked out a movie and they all cuddled together. 

Pidge was still sore, and she wasn't sure why. The connection getting severed should've healed it all? How exactly did this work?

Maybe it was just... Phantom pains.

Yeah.

That made sense.

Scooted a little closer to Hunk and giggled at the movie, feeling her eyelids get heavy.

For a second, it reminded her of before, so she put her hand on her chest. After feeling a strong, normal heartbeat, she let herself relax.

She felt herself drift into unconsciousness, and figured, why not sleep? No one was in danger. She was with all of them.

It was okay.

She was okay.

She could go to sleep now.

She could rest.

She forced her eyes open and smiled as she saw everyone else laughing, happy, alive and well, SAFE.

And she fell asleep, surrounded by her new family. It was a messy family, not blood related, but family nonetheless.

It was still good.

And, with their help, they would all be okay. They would all support each other. Help each other. In this case, they would all help Pidge.

And, with that thought, the thought of her family supporting and helping her, Pidge smiled.

It would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm probably gonna make a sequel to this where Pidge heals more, focused on the emotional and psychological aftermath of the situation.


End file.
